This invention relates generally to a method for verifying the operation of an electronic engine control system, and, more particularly, to a method that uses objective criteria to verify the quality of an electronic engine control system.
In the automotive industry, it is desirable to verify an engine control system before sale of automobiles containing the system. One step of verifying the system involves having engineers observe the system during operation and then making a determination of the system quality. The step of verifying quality usually takes place a number of times during the development cycle of the engine control system and, using existing methods, typically consumes a considerable amount of time and effort.
It is known in the engine control art that a measurement of quality may be determined by at least two methods. One method is to have an experienced engineer operate the engine and make a subjective determination of whether the quality is satisfactory. This method lacks objective criteria for the engineer to base a determination of quality and therefore is prone to producing inconsistent determinations. A second method is for the engineer to record engine data during operation and then determine quality based on the data. While this second method produces more consistent determinations of quality than the first method, it has the disadvantage of requiring instrumentation for recording engine data and also produces voluminous data which the engineer must process.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple and reliable method of determining the quality of an engine control system, where the determination is based on objective criteria.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a method of determining quality of an engine control system where the method does not require the processing of voluminous data.
In accordance with these aspects, a method is provided for determining the quality of the system where the method monitors an engine parameter representative of the quality of a subsystem of interest, compares the parameter to at least one quality limit, where the quality limits represent an outermost acceptable performance envelope for a fully functional engine control system, and, based on the result of the comparison, indicating whether the subsystem is of satisfactory quality.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.